In January, consumer confidence in access to mortgage credit rose to the highest level that Fannie Mae has observed since it introduced its monthly National Housing Survey in June 2010.

Fifty-two percent of respondents to the survey said they think it would be easy for them to get a mortgage, up from 50 percent the previous month. Meanwhile, 45 percent said they think it would be difficult, down 3 percentage points month over month.

Last month, more people also came to see the market as a favorable one for sellers. The share of people who say it is a good time to sell a house climbed by 5 percentage points from December, to 38 percent. But the proportion who said now is a good time to buy a house fell by 2 percentage points to 65 percent.